nder The Radar is a special series and newsletter offering from Diplomatic Courier bringing you compelling, under–the–radar stories from around the world over the past month. This month across the Hinterlands: special underwater telescopes, the quest for space sustainability, and the incalculable ‘blue carbon’ value of the seabed. You can sign up to receive the newsletter here.
Growing oceanic network hunts universe’s ‘ghost particles’
Scientists are expanding the network of special underwater telescopes around the world hoping to detect one of the universe’s most mysterious particles, the neutrino nicknamed the “ghost particle” due to its elusiveness. If successful, the effort could reveal science secrets from both earth and sky.
The global effort to build an underwater network to detect and study neutrinos is a large one, with many countries involved. While these efforts rely on telescopes, they’re not like a backyard telescope to look at stars but extremely specialized detection equipment. Placing them underwater helps shield them from the “noise.”
The underwater projects will complement underway neutrino detection projects, including the largely U.S.–funded IceCube project in Antarctica, as well as underground (but above water) projects, including the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory in China, Japan’s Hyper–Kamiokande and the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) in the United States.
The underwater detection projects include:
- China is developing the Tropical Deep–sea Neutrino Telescope (TRIDENT) in the South China Sea.
- Russia’s Baikal Deep Underwater Neutrino Telescope (Baikal–GVD) in Lake Baikal
- Europe’s Cubic Kilometre Neutrino Telescope (KM3NeT) under the Mediterranean Sea between Italy to near France
- Canada’s Pacific Ocean Neutrino Experiment Demonstrator will run more than thousands of kilometers off the coast of British Columbia.
The goal of all the new projects is to learn more about the neutrino, which could reveal new insights on things like black holes. But the incredibly sensitive telescopes can do even more, providing a sensor base to gather new data on climate change, tectonic plate movement and even the lives of whales.
The quest for ‘space sustainability’
An international group of scientists is seeking to add “space sustainability” as a UN Sustainable Development Goal.
The group is attempting to build off of the 14th SDG, “Life Below Water,” regarding the sustainability of Earth’s ocean, to think about international cooperation on dealing with space debris.
The effort follows on a 2023 article by many members of the group, calling for a treaty to protect earth’s orbit, to “avoid high seas mistakes.”
Since the 1950s, humanity has launched about 20,000 satellites into orbit. Today there are currently 12,500 in orbit—half of which make up the Starlink satellite constellation.
The UN adopted the 17 SDGs in 2015, and most have 2030 targets, although progress has been uneven. Still, they have been useful frameworks for sustained multilateral international action.
Among other aspects, progress toward this goal will reduce the amount and threat of space debris.
The risk of space debris has hit home (literally) this month, as video of a colorful breakup of a SpaceX rocket made headlines worldwide and generated untold quantities of space junk, while in Kenya, a mysterious 500–kilo ring of space junk crashed into a village.
New understanding of seabed’s climate importance
New research is revealing how important undersea soil is to capturing and storing carbon within the ocean—known as ‘blue carbon’—and the costs that could come if it is disturbed.
New Canadian research—which found the country’s marine conserved areas (MCAs) only encompass about 11% of its carbon stocks—mirrors that in other countries, most notably the UK. The UK was the first to map and estimate the amount of carbon stored in its seabeds. Such research could cause a rewriting of the rules for protecting certain marine areas as crucial to naturally trapping carbon.
The findings are adding to a growing body of knowledge that the ocean floor plays a more important role for the earth’s climate than was previously understood. Research on ‘blue carbon’ has typically focused on surface features such as mangrove forests, salt marshes and seagrass meadows. Seabed sediment clearly plays a significant role in capturing and holding carbon, and while research continues, early work shows just how significant its disturbance could be to Earth’s climate.
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Growing oceanic network hunts universe’s ‘ghost particles’
Artist's impression of the KM3NeT neutrino telescope. Image courtesy of the KM3NeT Collaboration via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0Artist's impression of the KM3NeT neutrino telescope.
February 3, 2025
Diplomatic Courier editor Jeremy Fugleberg brings you three under–the–radar stories from the Hinterlands: scientists search the deep sea for ‘ghost particles,’ the quest to add space to the UN SDGs, and undersea carbon storage.
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nder The Radar is a special series and newsletter offering from Diplomatic Courier bringing you compelling, under–the–radar stories from around the world over the past month. This month across the Hinterlands: special underwater telescopes, the quest for space sustainability, and the incalculable ‘blue carbon’ value of the seabed. You can sign up to receive the newsletter here.
Growing oceanic network hunts universe’s ‘ghost particles’
Scientists are expanding the network of special underwater telescopes around the world hoping to detect one of the universe’s most mysterious particles, the neutrino nicknamed the “ghost particle” due to its elusiveness. If successful, the effort could reveal science secrets from both earth and sky.
The global effort to build an underwater network to detect and study neutrinos is a large one, with many countries involved. While these efforts rely on telescopes, they’re not like a backyard telescope to look at stars but extremely specialized detection equipment. Placing them underwater helps shield them from the “noise.”
The underwater projects will complement underway neutrino detection projects, including the largely U.S.–funded IceCube project in Antarctica, as well as underground (but above water) projects, including the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory in China, Japan’s Hyper–Kamiokande and the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) in the United States.
The underwater detection projects include:
- China is developing the Tropical Deep–sea Neutrino Telescope (TRIDENT) in the South China Sea.
- Russia’s Baikal Deep Underwater Neutrino Telescope (Baikal–GVD) in Lake Baikal
- Europe’s Cubic Kilometre Neutrino Telescope (KM3NeT) under the Mediterranean Sea between Italy to near France
- Canada’s Pacific Ocean Neutrino Experiment Demonstrator will run more than thousands of kilometers off the coast of British Columbia.
The goal of all the new projects is to learn more about the neutrino, which could reveal new insights on things like black holes. But the incredibly sensitive telescopes can do even more, providing a sensor base to gather new data on climate change, tectonic plate movement and even the lives of whales.
The quest for ‘space sustainability’
An international group of scientists is seeking to add “space sustainability” as a UN Sustainable Development Goal.
The group is attempting to build off of the 14th SDG, “Life Below Water,” regarding the sustainability of Earth’s ocean, to think about international cooperation on dealing with space debris.
The effort follows on a 2023 article by many members of the group, calling for a treaty to protect earth’s orbit, to “avoid high seas mistakes.”
Since the 1950s, humanity has launched about 20,000 satellites into orbit. Today there are currently 12,500 in orbit—half of which make up the Starlink satellite constellation.
The UN adopted the 17 SDGs in 2015, and most have 2030 targets, although progress has been uneven. Still, they have been useful frameworks for sustained multilateral international action.
Among other aspects, progress toward this goal will reduce the amount and threat of space debris.
The risk of space debris has hit home (literally) this month, as video of a colorful breakup of a SpaceX rocket made headlines worldwide and generated untold quantities of space junk, while in Kenya, a mysterious 500–kilo ring of space junk crashed into a village.
New understanding of seabed’s climate importance
New research is revealing how important undersea soil is to capturing and storing carbon within the ocean—known as ‘blue carbon’—and the costs that could come if it is disturbed.
New Canadian research—which found the country’s marine conserved areas (MCAs) only encompass about 11% of its carbon stocks—mirrors that in other countries, most notably the UK. The UK was the first to map and estimate the amount of carbon stored in its seabeds. Such research could cause a rewriting of the rules for protecting certain marine areas as crucial to naturally trapping carbon.
The findings are adding to a growing body of knowledge that the ocean floor plays a more important role for the earth’s climate than was previously understood. Research on ‘blue carbon’ has typically focused on surface features such as mangrove forests, salt marshes and seagrass meadows. Seabed sediment clearly plays a significant role in capturing and holding carbon, and while research continues, early work shows just how significant its disturbance could be to Earth’s climate.
